Ratha Saptami
Ratha Saptami or Magha Saptami occurs in the
month of Magh as per the lunar calendar. Ratha Saptami occurs on the seventh
day of the waxing phase of the moon or on the sukla paksha Saptami of the Magh
Month.Ratha is a Sanskrit word which means Chariot.
Saptami means the seven. Since on the day of Magh Saptami it
is believed that the sun god would turn his chariot in the definitive North
direction this day is popular by the name of Ratha Saptami. It also marks
the birth of Surya and hence celebrated as Surya Jayanti.
Ratha Saptami is symbolic of the change of season to spring and the start of
the harvesting season. For most Indian farmers, it is an auspicious beginning
of the New Year. The festival is observed by all Hindus in their houses and in
innumerable temples dedicated to Surya, across India.
SIGNIFICANCE :
It is believed that after the sun entered the Northern
Hemisphere or Uttarayana the Chariot of Sun God is turned to a definitive North
on Ratha Saptami by the Charioteer Aruna. The Chariot is drawn by seven white
horses which represent the seven colours of the Rainbow. These horses also
represent the seven days of the week. There are 12 wheels to the chariot and
represent the 12 months of the year.
Sun is the seventh Manu and the present Manvantara is being called
by his name as Vaivasva manvantra.
Ratha Saptami also marks the gradual increase in temperature
across South India and awaits the arrival of spring, which is later heralded by
the festival of Ugadi or the Hindu lunar New Year day in the month
of Chaitra.
Ratha Saptami also marks the birth of Surya to
sage Kashyapa and his wife Aditi and hence celebrated as
Surya Jayanti.
Legends :
It is believed that Lord Rama worshipped Sun god by reciting
Aditya Hrudayam before killing Ravana.
Karna the warrior of Maha Bharata was born to Kunti Devi due
to sun worship.
Yudishtar the elder of the Pandavas got a Akshaya bowl after
worshipping Sun god.
Lord Hanuman learnt Nava Vyakarna from Sun God and Sun God is
Lord Hanumans Guru.
Sathrajit was given a diamond Semanthaka mani a diamond
which would give 8 Kgs of Gold per day by Sun God as a result of worshipping
the Sun god.
Bhishma Pitamaha the great warrior of Maha Bharata waited for
this day and died on the next day after Ratha Saptami.
Observances
:
Argyam or (Tharpanam) (water held in the palms) is
offered to the Sun God on this day while chanting hymns are performed to the
Sun God. It also involves doing a puja with the
ritual Naivedhya (food offering to God), and offering of flowers and
fruits. Important prayers offered to the Sun god on this occasion are
the Adityahridayam, Gayathri, Suryashtakam, Surya Sahasram
namam. The preferred time for the pooja is within one hour after sunrise.
In some of the important Vaishnavite temples
such as the Tirumala, Srirangam and Melukote, Ratha Saptami
is one of the important festivals of the year.
In Tirumala
On Ratha sapthami a one-day Brahmotsavam is held
in Tirumala.On this day, the presiding deity of Lord Malayappa Swamy along
with his divine consorts Sridevi and Bhudevi are taken to a procession in Thiru
Mada streets in Tirumala. The deities carried out in a jubilant procession
around the Thiru mada streets encircling the holy Shrine of Balaji on seven
different vahanams(sapthami=seven) .Due to this reason the day of RathaSapthami
is called as "Mini-Brahmotsavam" in Tirumala.The day starts with
'Surya prabha vahanam' at early morning followed
by Sesha, Garuda, Hanumantha, Kalpavriksha, sarvabhoopala
vahanams respectively.The day is ended with the Chandra prabha
vahanam.
2016 Date : 14th Feb, Sunday.
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